Reunion

by David Daniel

When Tom Knowles returns to the Massachusetts town where he grew up to help sell the family house and move his widowed mother, he finds his high school class is having its thirtieth reunion. Without much interest, he attends, and finds his boyhood friend “Brain” McLean still living up to his nickname; Brain has designed a holographic show made from old films of the pregraduation dance they had. The show is cut short by a fierce electric storm, but Tom has already had enough time to get caught up in both the old days and the present lives of his classmates. Although he is eager to get back to Hollywood and learn the fate of a screenplay he has written, he becomes more and more involved, not only in the lives of his former friends, but in the town itself. In a parallel narrative, David Daniel gives an insightful account of Tom’s his dying father, his understanding high school teacher, and his contribution to the family by digging clams on the beach. Ultimately, Tom must choose where he will find his in Hollywood or in the past? David Daniel’s latest book is a gripping read about the paths we take in life and what happens when we look back.

336 pages, Hardcover

First published May 13, 2008

About the author

David Daniel's stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies alongside work by Ray Bradbury and Richard Matheson. He is author of more than a dozen books, including entries in the St. Martin’s Press prize-winning Alex Rasmussen mystery series: The Heaven Stone, The Skelly Man, Goofy Foot, and The Marble Kite. Other novels include White Rabbit, a novel of the 1960, and the bestselling political thriller The Tuesday Man.

His newest book, Beach Town, a collection of short stories, is a bittersweet look at the loves and losses of characters, young and old, living in a coastal town.

Born in Boston, Daniel has traveled widely and has been a teacher, surfer, tennis coach, clam digger, and brain slicer in the neuropathology lab at Harvard Medical School.

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was sooooo strange. I liked that it flipped back and forth between young TK and adult TK. I don't really understand what happened in this book. It started out about a guy who returns to his hometown to take care of his mom. While he's there he attends his class reunion. Then the book turn all conspiracy theory meets sci-fi. Then the author appears to get tired of writing and the book ends.